My head throbbed when my eyes opened after a full day of recovery. When I looked about my surroundings, I was able to tell I'd been checked into a hospital. The room was dark due to night having fallen over the city a few hours ago. I was alone; the only sound breaking the silence was the heart monitor hooked up to me.
Under the influence of some kind of drug the doctors must've given me, I pinched the bridge of my nose, waiting patiently for the pulsating to fade away. And then it all came back to me.
My brother Jackson.
The mission given to him by the Public.
The fire.
Dominick Von Kraige.
Did he make it out? For the sake of my sanity I sure hope so. Then again, I guess that's all I could do. By the looks of it, I didn't have my cell phone anymore... oh yeah... I threw it away. I couldn't get to him because he no longer had a home, and I definitely wasn't positive where else he'd go for shelter. For all I know he would have caught fire when the sun rose over the city, or was even killed in the fire my brother set.
Dominick...
My Dominick... I'm so sorry.
Tearing the needle from my arm, I sent the heart monitor to a flat line, and winced when I peeled away an amount of my skin. Moving across the room, I opened the small closet door beside the bathroom and rummaged through it for my clothing. Once I was dressed in a pair of denim jeans, a shirt with my favorite band on it, and had my shoes tied, I swore when a nurse reacting to the flat line entered the room.
"Young man," she addressed me, "You can't leave just yet; you're not feeling well. Your grandfather instructed he'd be here soon."
I didn't pay attention to her words. "I have to get out of here. Someone may be hurt; I have to leave."
"Young man, please; your grandfather insisted we keep you here."
I grabbed my backpack sitting on the chair beside the door and strapped it over my shoulder, but the nurse cut me off from leaving the room. "I'm sorry, you cannot leave. Your grandfather already signed your papers."
There was a knock on the room's door and in thinking it could just be Julius, I turned away, upset that he'd handed me over to the hospital. He knew how I felt about them. The nurse backed away from me and opened the door. "I'm going to speak with him alone," said a voice that eased my soul. I turned around and Dom stood in the frame of the doorway. There was a faint smile on his face to show he was happy to see me, and I was more than excited to see he was alive.
The nurse nodded with the blankness of someone set under a spell, and moved past Dom to exit the door. We stood there in a silence unlike any other I had come to know. Though there was the constant buzz of the flat line, all else was nothing more than a haze of nothing. Without indecision I shoved myself against Dom's chest, him taking me in his arms to catch me in our moment of revelation.
"I thought you were dead," I almost cried out, "I'm so sorry, Dom; could you ever find it in yourself to forgive me?"
He kissed my hair, "What is there to forgive; you did nothing."
He placed my arms around him to embrace him correctly, but I winced in pain when the scar I left on my arm from having torn the needle out grazed his sweater. I stepped back and cupped my forearm, but when a feeling overcame me I couldn't restrict myself from looking up at Dom. He was staring at the amount of blood seeping from me... but not in a hungered manner like I'd expect a vampire to.
He reached to grab me without force, but I didn't snatch my arm back. His gaze then met mine, and he softly pulled me across the room to a cabinet beside the small closet door. "Take a seat," he said.
I did.
He rummaged through the thin shelves for something, and out he took a roll of gauze and alcohol. He submerged a wad of cotton in the liquid I knew would sting like hell. He neared me at the hospital bed and took my hand in his, looking over the blood with a sense of appetite, but composed himself and cleaned my wound. When he was done, he wrapped my forearm and set a kiss on the ceiling. "Let me take you somewhere," he said. "Away from this place. I'm sure Julius will be here to get you, but... spend time with me, Raeden."
The offer was something I couldn't turn down, but what would happen if and when Julius came to check in on me? There'd be serious questions and consequences when he finds out I left without him, but I wanted to be with Dom, there's nothing more I could want.
I played with the end of his shirt with my fingers, sending my mind into court to argue the answer out. With Jackson knowing I was in a relationship of some kind, and adding his jealousy over my title of Hamilton, there's no telling if he'd tell Julius about Dom... or that guy I was making out with... letting him touch me like I hadn't allowed anyone in my past.
I smiled to myself when remembering the way Dom's hands explored my body, his touch—his hands were so tender and calm even if he was an immortal. There's no telling how, when, or where I'd give myself over to him. The yearning was there in my head, begging me to lie submissive beneath him as he made love to me. And soon a jealousy of my own surfaced without means.
Dom was a vampire, five hundred and fifteen years old. By the looks of him, his attractiveness, his way with words, and piercing seductive eyes, I could only imagine how many people he's slept with in his long life, how many people were granted the pleasures of being his for a night. But I...
I wanted to be his forever. There was something about him I couldn't give up; I didn't ever want him to disappear from my life. I wasn't afraid to say I loved him... at least not out loud.
"Where — Where would we go?" I asked, wishing I could rewind to cut out the part where my voice squeaked with apprehension.
Dom's hands rose to my face and I closed my eyes. "Perhaps we could go to my place."
I looked up, "You mean you have somewhere to live?"
"Demiesius surely wouldn't allow his progeny to take shelter on the streets. He gave me the keys to an apartment in the city; if you're willing, maybe you and I can go together."
Rubbing my temples, I said, "Okay, but I hope you know Julius will have a huge cow when he finds out I've gone without him."
Dom took hold of my hand, holding it firmly in his, "He'll get over it."
* * *
It didn't take long to get back to Dom's place. The building was on the nice part of town, tall, five floors, and looked fairly new. It looked more like a business building then an apartment high-rise. Still, he was a vampire, so I guess things could work out a little different than normal for his kind.
He unlocked the door with his cardkey and let me walk past him, closed the door behind him and moved for where the kitchen area was. I ventured through his home, taking in how nice it was. "Demiesius must be a really popular guy to hand out stuff like this," I said, running a finger atop the glass of the table before the living room sofa. Is it still considered a living room if the person regularly occupying it is dead?
Dom rounded from his unused dining room; in his hands he held two glasses. In front of me he set one down that had a 50/50 amount of soda and vodka. He laughed at me when I sniffed the rim of the glass and pulled back because it was so strong on my nose. "Have you ever been drinking before?" he asked me.
I set the glass in my lap unsure of what to say. I didn't want to come off as too childish for the likes of Dom. He was a man resembling twenty two while I was just some eighteen-year-old who didn't know what it was to live like every other teenager. Maybe I was a kid in his eyes, but I wanted to be more than just that young boy.
"Yeah," I said, sounding like I was obviously lying, "Once or twice before."
Dom sat down beside me and took a swig of whatever he was drinking... blood, I think. "You do know I find that very hard to believe."
I raised the rim of the glass to my lips and took back a small amount, clearing my throat because it burned like hell. "I just...I just don't want to be that guy you just happen to be into. I know you know I've never drunk anything in my life. It's been so revolved around the Public that I haven't really had the chance to live, to even have that first alcoholic beverage with their father, to do anything besides...kill."
"Raeden, if I thought you were some small minded kid who sucks his thumb and sits with his hands under his ass all the time, I wouldn't look your way for a second. But seeing as you're unquestionably hot, you can handle yourself in most drastic situations, you're out spoken...You don't have to try for me."
I smiled unconsciously, "Does that mean I don't have to finish this?"
Without warning, Dom shot up from the sofa at velocity like no other. He stood in silence, a thousand yard stare gawking towards the window.
Unnerved a little, I placed the glass of toxins down on the coffee table, and said, "Is something wrong?"
He brought his hand back, cupping my mouth as if kindly telling me to shut my mouth.
He continued to gape at the stillness of the window. In a way it almost seemed like he was listening to something, a whisper I couldn't hear let alone see where it was coming from.
Dom finally looked back at me, removing his hand.
When I got the feeling it was alright for me to speak, I said, "What was that all about?"
He skimmed the floor for answers, "I'm not sure," he said with indecision, "But, back to where we were." He shoved a hand against my chest, not too forcefully, just enough for me to lay back on the sofa cushions, and set himself atop me. "How's about you give me that sweet ass of yours already. I'm dying to sample."
My cheeks flushed, but I hoped the room was dim enough for him not to tell. Blushing was for inexperienced people, and though I was almost to the point of shaking with anxiety, I didn't want to show Dom just how hot and bothered I was. "What's the matter?" I said, teasing a kiss upon his lips, "Big bad vampire like you can't wait to steal something away from a little innocent guy like me."
Dom joked with a huff, "Little is one thing, but innocent is something you are definitely not."
Swift insecurity came over me, and I couldn't get the feeling off my chest. There's never been anyone else out there in the world I've ever wanted to give myself to so quickly. Sure I've had my small crushes here and there, but those were usually untouchable celebrities or the hot jock at school that was too desperate to keep himself in the closet. My orientation was obvious if you knew me long enough even without having to ask.
If I gave myself to Dom right now, I wondered nervously if he'd think of me as too easy. I wasn't the person who went out looking for a guy to ride, but... Dom was different, and somehow I figured he deserved me.
"If I do this," I said in a voice I hated, one that made me sound utterly weak, "You wouldn't think I was some kind of whore, would you?"
Dom rested his forehead against mine, "Raeden, if anyone should be called a whore of any kind, it is me."
"How many people have you slept with over the years?"
Dom came off as puzzled by the question, but he answered me anyway. "I'm really not too sure. Maybe a couple thousand. A hundred thousand."
"You must've been a really busy guy."
"What can I tell you? It was a good time-passer."
The insecurity came back to haunt me. What if I wasn't pleasing enough to him? Maybe someone in the past was better at sex than I am to be. "Do you remember any of them?"
"Not really."
"Y'know, right now I'm not sure whether I should be jealous or upset."
Dom laughed and placed a kiss on my lips, "Trust me, not to sound all chickish, but I've never felt this way about anyone before, Raeden. I know you're supposed to be my enemy, but I feel we could be much more. Now, I'm not going to force you into having sex with me just because I'm ready. This is your body. You do what you want with it. I can wait as long as you can."
With that said I shoved my lips against his, tempting his tongue to take me. He was my "knight in shining armor" and for a reward in being so thoughtful — even if he was annoying at times, I would personally hand myself over to him. But there was one thing I needed to be sure of, "Do you love me, Dom?" I asked, trembling with frustration in his arms, anxious to go further. "Please, tell me you love me."
He picked my small body from the sofa, his hands grasping my thighs as he moved from the living to the hall and into his colossal bedroom. "I love you, Raeden, and I want you to love me."
I wanted to cry, but I held my emotions to myself. There was no time for tears when the next step was in store. I drew his shirt over his head as he still held me, placing suggestive kisses upon his pale skin; his hard abs like a washboard when my fingers traced them.
He set me down and crawled atop me. He glided his fingers up my shirt and unbuttoned my pants with his other. When I had my shirt off he paused to look up at me, as if asking if taking off my pants himself was something I'd allow. He proceeded when I didn't deny him, and let them fall on the floor at the foot of the bed.
I worked myself out of my briefs, nervous in having him see me in nothing but skin. Holding my knees closed to shield my lower region, I could feel the heat coming to my cheeks, but also as Dom ran his hands under my skinny thighs, for all I wanted, I couldn't hold back my erection.
He set his hands on my knees, spreading them, and I closed my eyes as he looked about my features. I gasped when he closed his hand around my cock, his lips catching mine before a breath could leave them. I was shivering while he worked on me, jerking his hand along my length. I didn't think I had much to offer, but still I guessed it was enough to please the eye.
An aroused moan escaped me when Dom released me, and I moved about the bed, begging for him to go on. I heard his zipper fall and his pants hit the floor, the bed shaking when he graced me with his touch again.
"Dammit, Demiesius!" I was shocked to hear him say that. He released me once more, taking me by the arm and tugging until I was on my knees and pressed against his hardness. Hard...for me. "You know how to pick the worst times, don't you?"
Confused, I leaned into him, "Who are you talking to?" I asked.
Dom let his hands find my ass, gripping my cheeks before sitting me on his cock, the size and stiffness overwhelming. "My father calls for me," he said, running his mouth along my neck, "I must go to him."
"What?" I almost shouted, "You can't leave now. Dom, please stay."
"I am in no position to deny him."
"Can't you tell him what position you're in right now?"
"He wouldn't care." Dom kissed me with annoyance in his manner, "Stay here. Wait for me. I'll be right back, I swear. This won't take long."
"What am I supposed to do until you get back?"
He laughed knowingly, "I'll tell you one thing, when I get back, I expect you to still be naked and in this bed. Watch television or something. Think about the things you'll have me do to you when I return." Dom stood from the bed, a sense of disappointment showing in my eyes as I watched him leave the room without bothering to put his clothes back on.
How long was I supposed to lay here and wait for him to get back and make love to me? That jerk... this better not be a set up to see if I was that desperate to wait for him. And although I wasn't desperate...I would wait.